Prime Minister Keir Starmer reached an agreement with US President Donald Trump to implement trading terms disclosed last month to slash US tariffs on key British exports and raise UK quotas on certain American agricultural products.
Trump and Starmer on Monday presented a document signed at the Group of Seven meeting in Kananaskis, Canada, agreeing to move forward on measures easing trade of cars, agricultural and aerospace products — but falling short of an immediate ease of steel tariffs, a key British ask.
“It’s done and so we have our trade agreement,” Trump told reporters, while Starmer said: “This now implements on car tariffs and aerospace, a really important agreement.”
The two men provided no further immediate details, and didn’t say when the new tariff levels will enter force. When in place, the deal will be the first sealed by Trump following his decision to ratchet up tariffs against countries worldwide. While the US president has also secured a trade framework with China that lowered escalating tariffs, deals with other trading partners have proved more elusive.
For Starmer, reaching an agreement sheltering key industries from more aggressive tariffs before other countries is a vindication of his diplomatic approach refusing to overtly criticize Trump — but the absence of steel for now is a major blow, with a UK official saying tariffs remained at 25%.
For the US president, it’ll be touted as a signal that his tariff war is bearing fruit after winning UK concessions on agriculture.
The deal on steel had been subject to doubt amid US concerns about Chinese ownership of British Steel. While the UK government has taken effective control of the manufacturer, its legal owner remains China’s Jingye Group. On Monday, the US agreed to exempt the UK up to a certain quota that has not been set.
Under the framework document published in May, the US agreed to cut tariffs on cars imported from the UK to 10% from 27.5% for the first 100,000 vehicles each year, and drop levies on steel to zero from 25%. In return, the UK vowed to increase tariff-free quotas on US beef and ethanol.
With assistance from Stephanie Lai.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.